OMF International

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OMF International
Founder(s) Hudson Taylor
Type Evangelical Missions Agency
Founded 25 June 1865
Origins China Inland Mission (till 1964)
Area served 25 Countries
Website http://omf.org http://www.chinasmillions.org/

OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before that the China Inland Mission before 1964) is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded by English missionary Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The non-sectarian China Inland Mission was founded on principles of faith and prayer. From the beginning it recruited missionaries from the working class as well as single women, which was a new practice for a large agency. Even today, no appeals for funds are made, instead a reliance upon God is practiced to move people through prayer alone. The goal of the mission that began dedicated to China has grown to include bringing the Gospel to the millions of inhabitants of East Asia who have never heard or had access to the message of Jesus Christ. Reluctantly, along with the departure of all foreign Christian workers in the early 1950s, the China Inland Mission redirected all of its missionaries to other parts of east Asia, to continue the work and maintain a ministry to China and the Chinese. The name was officially changed to Overseas Missionary Fellowship in 1964. A quote from the OMF website in 2006 summarizes the current organization:

“ The goal of OMF International is to glorify God through the urgent evangelisation of East Asia's peoples. Overseas Missionary Fellowship is a global network of Christians proclaiming the glory of Jesus Christ among East Asia's peoples through fervent prayer, loving service and personal witness. Through God's grace and power we work to see a biblical church movement in each people group of East Asia. Started as the China Inland Mission by Hudson Taylor, OMF serves throughout East Asia in a variety of ministries, including evangelism and discipleship, starting new churches, tentmaking, student ministry, English teaching and mobilizing and equipping Asian churches for world missions. Our relationships with national churches provide meaningful opportunities for partnership in long-term and short-term outreach activities. OMF currently has around 1,100 workers from more than 25 countries. ”

[edit] History


Part of a series on
Protestant missions to China

Background
Christianity
Protestantism
Chinese history
Missions timeline
Christianity in China
Nestorian China missions
Catholic China missions
Jesuit China missions
Protestant China missions

People
Robert Morrison
Karl Gützlaff
Divie Bethune McCartee
J. Hudson Taylor
Lottie Moon
Timothy Richard
Jonathan Goforth
Cambridge Seven
Eric Liddell
Gladys Aylward
(more missionaries)

Missionary agencies
China Inland Mission
London Missionary Society
American Board
Church Missionary Society
US Presbyterian Mission
(more agencies)

Works
Anti-Footbinding
Anti-Opium
Chinese Bible
Chinese Colleges
Medical missions in China
Chinese Hymnody
Chinese Roman Type
Cantonese Roman Type

Pivotal events
Taiping Rebellion
Opium Wars
Unequal Treaties
Yangzhou riot
Tianjin Massacre
Boxer Crisis
First Sino-Japanese War
Xinhai Revolution
Chinese Civil War
WW II
People's Republic

Chinese Protestants
Liang Fa
Keuh Agong
Xi Shengmo
Sun Yat-sen
John Sung
Wang Mingdao
Allen Yuan
Samuel Lamb

Christianity in China Portal

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[edit] Missiological Distinctives of the C.I.M.

“ 1. Priority is given to unreached inland provinces while seeking to evangelize the whole of China.

2. No solicitation of finance, or indebtedness; looking to God alone; pooling support in life of corporate faith
3. Identification with Chinese by wearing Chinese dress and queue (pigtail), worshipping in Chinese houses
4. Indigenization through training Chinese co-workers in self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating principles
5. Recruitment of missionaries not based on education or ecclesiastical ordination, but spiritual qualification; deployment of single women in the interior and Christian professionals
6. Interdenominational-International Membership
7. Headquarters on the field, director rule; leaders and workers serving shoulder to shoulder

 ”

[1]


“ “We wish to see churches and Christian Chinese presided over by pastors and officers of their own countrymen, worshipping the true God in the land of their fathers, in the costume of their fathers, in their own tongue wherein they were born, and in edifices of a thoroughly Chinese style of architecture.” (-J. Hudson Taylor) ”

[2]

[edit] Taking Root

Hudson Taylor circa 1865
Hudson Taylor circa 1865

Hudson Taylor made the first decision to found the China Inland Mission at Brighton, England during his first furlough from China. Like his missionary forebear Karl Gützlaff and contemporary William Chalmers Burns, Taylor was convinced that Chinese clothing should be worn when engaged in missionary work in inland China. On October 3, 1865, Taylor sent John and Anne Stevenson and George Stott to China, where they arrived on February 6, 1866. Including the five missionaries previously sent to Ningbo -James Joseph Meadows, Jean Notman, Stephen Paul Barchet, and George and Anne Crombie, these eight were already in China when Taylor returned in 1866. On 26 May of that year, Taylor accompanied the largest group of missionaries that had ever sailed to China on the Lammermuir. There were 16 missionaries as well as Hudson, his wife, Maria and their 4 children that became known as the Lammermuir Party. This journey took 4 months.

The Lammermuir Party sailed on 26 May 1866.
The Lammermuir Party sailed on 26 May 1866.

[edit] Inland pioneering

In 1872, the China Inland Mission's London council was formed. In 1875, it began to evangelise China systematically. Taylor requested 18 missionaries from God for the nine provinces which were still unreached. In 1881, he requested a further 70 missionaries, and, in 1886, 100 missionaries. In 1887 "The Hundred missionaries" were sent to China. Taylor travelled across several continents to recruit for the China Inland Mission. By the end of the Nineteenth century, the CIM was well known around the world. Historian Richard Lovett wrote about the practices of the missionaries in 1899:

“ 1. They have an excellent spirit, - self-denying, with singleness of aim; devotional, with a spirit of faith, of love, of humility.

2. Their operations are carried on with great efficiency and economy.
3. They are able and willing to bring themselves into close contact with the people, by living in their houses, using their dress, and living for the most part on their food; in short, “becoming all things unto all men, that they may save some.”
4. They are widely scattered, but one or two families in a city.
5. They are having good success; many are doing a great amount of preaching and praying, and souls are “added to the Church,” and are, I trust, truly converted.
6. They are not generally educated men, but men from humble labouring classes, converted and brought out by the revivals in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and showing zeal and aptness to preach and labour for the salvation of souls. Hence they will not be very likely to fritter away foolishly their time in reading dusty old Chinese tomes, and in making books and tracts that nobody will read.
7. They are willing to “rough it.”

 ”

[3]

[edit] Boxer Crisis of 1900

Missionary preaching in China using The Wordless Book
Missionary preaching in China using The Wordless Book

In 1900, attacks took place across China in connection with the Boxer Rebellion which targeted Christians and foreigners. The China Inland Mission lost more members than any other agency: 58 adults and 21 children were killed. (See the List of the Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission in 1900). However, in 1901, when the allied nations were demanding compensation from the Chinese government, Hudson Taylor refused to accept payment for loss of property or life in order to demonstrate the meekness of Christ to the Chinese. In the same year, Dixon Edward Hoste was appointed to the directorship of the mission.

[edit] Growth amid war and revolution

The early 1900s saw great expansion of missionary activity in China following the Boxer Rebellion and during the Revolution of 1912 and the establishment of the Chinese Republic. William Whiting Borden, wealthy heir of the Borden, Inc. family, who graduated from Yale in 1909, left behind a comfortable life in America to respond to the call for workers with the Muslims of northwest China. He died in Egypt while still in training.

A musician and an engineer named James O. Fraser was the first to bring the Gospel message to the Lisu tribes of Yunnan in southwest China. This resulted in phenomenal church growth among the various tribes in the area that endured to the 21st century.

The Warlord period brought widespread lawlessness to China and missionary work was often dangerous or deadly. John and Betty Stam were a young couple who were murdered in 1934 by Communist soldiers. Their biography "The Triumph of John and Betty Stam" inspired a generation of missionaries to follow in the same steps of service despite the trials of war and persecution that raged in China in the 1930s and 1940's.

The Japanese invasion further complicated efforts as the Japanese distrusted anyone with British or American Nationalities. When the Japanese invaded China in World War II, the China Inland Mission moved its headquarters up the Yangzi River to Chongqing. Many missionaries were put into concentration camps until the end of the war. One such camp was at Weifang. The entire Chefoo School run by the mission at Yantai was imprisoned at a concentration camp. As the children and teachers were marched off they sang:

“ God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…. The Lord of Hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46:1,7)

 ”

The students were separated from their parents for more than 5 years.

In 1900 there were an estimated 100,000 Christians in China. It multiplied to seven times that number by 1950 (700,000). The Chinese church began to be an indigenous movement helped by strong leaders such as John Sung, Wang Ming-Dao, and Andrew Gih.

[edit] From C.I.M. to O.M.F

Phyllis Thompson wrote that between 1949 and 1952, after the victory of the Communist armies, there was a “reluctant exodus” of all of the members of the China Inland Mission. The leaders met at Bournemouth, England to discuss the situation and the decision was made to re-deploy all of the missionaries into the rest of East Asia. Headquarters were moved to Singapore and work commenced in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia. In addition to reducing some languages to written form, the Bible was translated, and basic theological education was given to neglected tribal groups. The publication and distribution of Christian literature were prioritized among both the rural tribes people and the urban working classes and students. The goal remained for every community to have a church in East Asia and thereby the Gospel would be preached “to every creature”. The proclamation of the Christian message also included medical work. Three hospitals were opened in rural Thailand as well as a leprosy control program. Many of the patients were refugees. In the Philippines, community development programs were launched. Alcoholic rehabilitation began in Japan, and rehabilitation work among prostitutes was begun in Taipei and Bangkok.

In 1980, Hudson Taylor's great grandson, James Hudson Taylor III, became General Director of the mission work. According to Taylor in 1989,

“ “The fellowship has no desire to re-establish itself there (in China) in the form it used to have”, but he also affirmed that “OMF is still deeply committed to the Chinese people. We can never forget that we came into existence as the China Inland Mission. Ever since our ‘reluctant exodus’ we have called the church worldwide to prayer for our brothers and sisters in China, and to share in proclaiming the gospel and nurturing millions of new believers through radio broadcasts and the provision of Bibles and Christian literature.” ”

The work continues to the present day. Patrick Fung, a Chinese Christian appointed in 2005, is the first Asian to lead the mission.

[edit] Chronology

1860s

1870s

Cover of the Occasional Paper of the China Inland Mission in 1875.
Cover of the Occasional Paper of the China Inland Mission in 1875.
Cover of China's Millions for 1885
Cover of China's Millions for 1885
  • 1879 Shaanxi : George and Emily Snow King are the first married missionary couple to settle in Hanzhong.
  • 1879 Sichuan : M. A. Howland Nicoll is are the first female Christian missionary to live in Chongqing.

1880s

Dixon Edward Hoste and fellow China Inland Mission missionaries in native dress.
Dixon Edward Hoste and fellow China Inland Mission missionaries in native dress.
First Party of Americans to join the C.I.M. in 1888.
First Party of Americans to join the C.I.M. in 1888.

1890s

  • Shanghai Headquarters at Wusong Road 1890
The China Inland Mission Headquarters in Shanghai.
The China Inland Mission Headquarters in Shanghai.
  • 1890 Australia Home Council for CIM formed
  • First party of Australian missionaries arrived in 1890
First Party of Australians to join the C.I.M. in 1890.
First Party of Australians to join the C.I.M. in 1890.
  • New Zealand Home Council formed
  • Newington Green office Headquarters in London 1895
The China Inland Mission, one of two Grade 2 listed buildings on Mildmay's Newington Green. (October 2005).
The China Inland Mission, one of two Grade 2 listed buildings on Mildmay's Newington Green. (October 2005).

1900s

  • Boxer Rebellion of 1900 claims 58 missionaries and 21 children killed from the China Inland Mission.
  • In 1901 Hudson Taylor refused to accept compensation payment from the Chinese government for loss of property or life, to show the ‘meekness and gentleness of Christ’
  • 1901, A council was set up, headquartered in Philadelphia, to supervise the mission's work in the United States
  • Dixon Edward Hoste appointed acting General Director in 1901
  • James Hudson Taylor Resigned as Director of the China Inland Mission November 1902
  • 1904 Xinjiang: George Hunter (missionary) opens mission station.
  • James Hudson Taylor died 3 June 1905 in Changsha, Hunan, China
  • Empress Dowager Dies in 1908
  • China Inland Mission sent relief team to flood and famine in Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan

1910s

1920s

  • The Chinese Civil War forced a temporary evacuation of nearly all of the missionaries
  • 1927-1932 200 missionaries selected from over 1200 applicants

1930s

  • Headquarters in Shanghai move to Sinza Road in 1930
  • 1934 1,368 missionaries were serving at 364 stations. The mission staff also included hundreds of Chinese pastors, teachers, colporteurs, chapel keepers, and Bible women.
  • John and Betty Stam executed in South Anhui in 1934
  • World War II forced many of the missionaries further inland - or they were captured by the Japanese and detained until the end of the war

1940s

  • 1942, 1,263 missionaries. The headquarters was evacuated out of Shanghai to escape the Japanese army. An emergency headquarters was set up in Chongqing, the same city where the Chinese government had relocated.
  • November 1942 China Inland Mission School at Chefoo (Yantai) is closed and all students and staff imprisoned.
  • 1943, South Africa Home Council formed
  • August 1945 China Inland Mission School at Chefoo (Yantai) is liberated by American paratroopers
  • 1945, The staff moved back to Shanghai
  • October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims People's Republic of China in Beijing

1950s

  • After the "Christian Manifesto", the China Inland Mission began to withdraw its missionaries ending in 1953
  • 1950, 1,104 missionaries, of whom 757 were in China. CIM home council started in Switzerland
  • 1951 Three-Self Patriotic Movement launched allowing government control of Christian assembly
  • In November 1951, a new headquarters was set up in Singapore, and the organization's name was changed to The China Inland Mission Overseas Missionary Fellowship
  • 1951, A temporary headquarters was set up in Hong Kong, mainly to oversee the withdrawal of the missionaries.
  • October 14, 1954, The mission was reorganized at a meeting of the mission's overseas council. The council reaffirmed the need for the mission, but changed its structure so that non-Western Christians could become full members and set up home councils in their own countries. The main emphasis of the OMF was to continue to be evangelism, but support would also be given to a literature program, medical services, radio and TV outreach, student work, and linguistic work.
  • Re-deployment of all missionaries to East Asia

1960s

1970s

1980s

  • Chinese Church reaches 21.5 million baptised members, over 52 million including Christian families and adherents

1990s

  • Overseas Missionary Fellowship renamed OMF International
A 2007 book by Alvyn Austin.
A 2007 book by Alvyn Austin.

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Taylor (2005), reference to Daniel W. Bacon, “From Faith to Faith” 1983
  2. ^ Broomhall (1984), 356
  3. ^ Lovett (1899), 74

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

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